King's-Edgehill not building its own rink: headmaster addresses arena rumours

King’s-Edgehill School headmaster Joe Seagram, left, and Dill Farm owner Danny Dill make a presentation during a Town of Windsor committee of the whole meeting about the hockey heritage museum and arena. - Colin Chisholm

WINDSOR, N.S. – King’s-Edgehill School is not building its own rink at Long Pond, says headmaster Joe Seagram.

While the debate over the proposed Hockey Heritage Centre has continued over the past several months, speculation about what King’s-Edgehill School, a former partner in the project, would do has been rampant, with some suggesting the school would build its own facility.

“Part of what you have heard is true, but very little of it,” Seagram said in an email when asked to address the rumours.

“Given our proximity to the Dill Farm, KES had a Right of First Refusal to purchase land should (Danny) Dill ever want to sell it,” Seagram said. “Last year, Danny decided that he wanted to sell a portion of his property and so we exercised our right to purchase.”

Seagram said the school purchased a portion of the land on the farm, approximately 4.5 hectares.

“It is not our desire to build an arena,” Seagram added. “Should it be determined that the Long Pond site is the preferred location (for the Hockey Heritage Centre), the Town of Windsor has asked KES if we would make land available. We have said yes. No decision about (the) location has been made.”

Windsor town council is still deliberating on which site would make sense to build the proposed Hockey Heritage Centre, which would include an ice surface and a museum component.

The two primary sites being considered include near Long Pond, the Dill Farm and King’s-Edgehill School and at the Hants County Exhibition Grounds.

A third option is to retrofit the existing Hants County Exhibition Arena.

The Municipality of West Hants council recently removed itself from the Inter-Municipal Service Agreement, while recommitting the $1 million over five years in support of the project. That means the decision process is now entirely up to the Town of Windsor.

The town previously committed $1 million towards the project and the province has committed $3 million.

Federal funding has not been secured yet, but the council is hoping it can have a plan in place prior to the April 1, 2018 deadline to apply for funding through the New Building Canada Fund. The maximum federal contribution for the project is up to one-third of eligible costs.

Several milestones will also need to be met under the New Building Canada Fund, including up-to-date cost estimates, identification of all funding sources necessary to complete the project as well as assurance those funds are secure.